Google Will Buy Frommer's Travel Guides

Just imagine how influential the travel advice operation could become once it’s pumped into Google Maps and other services for mobile devices that can detect where you are. The current owner, John Wiley & Sons, confirmed today its agreement to sell “all of its travel assets, including all of its interests in the Frommer’s brand, to Google.” The companies didn’t volunteer the sale price, but The New York Timessays it’s about $23M. The current thinking is that Frommer’s will be melded into Zagat, a service that provides user-generated reviews of restaurants and other attractions. Google bought Zagat last year for $151M.